Apple and Coca-Cola team for 70m iTunes UK giveaway

Coca-Cola and Apple will give away 70 million iTunes tracks in the UK this summer.

by
Jonny Evans
, | 02 Aug 06

Coca-Cola and Apple will give away 70 million iTunes tracks in the UK this summer.

The two brands have announced a European music partnership that includes major promotions in the UK and Germany and the launch of a new Coke-branded music website across Europe, including the UK, Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

Coke and Apple will give away 70 million free songs from the iTunes Music Store in the UK and thousands of iPods in Germany. In the UK, cans and bottles of Coke will carry a code drinkers can use to download their free song. Songs will be redeemable through a new Coca-Cola music download website, though they will be limited to five per person.

Coca-Cola has also launched a new music download website, just weeks after closing its previous music service iteration. The website can be found here.

The new Coca-Cola download website features iTunes integration throughout. In the UK, Germany, Austria and Switzerland unsigned artists will have be able to upload their songs, giving them a chance for broad exposure on the site through artist highlights, European podcasts available on iTunes, and invitations to play at Coke-sponsored European festivals.

To launch the partnership, live gigs will be held in the UK, Germany, Austria and Switzerland, with selected live songs and video podcasts from the performances available on iTunes and the Coca-Cola music download site.

"We're excited to announce this partnership with Apple," said Dominique Reiniche, president of Coca-Cola European Union Group. "Together we are creating a unique and exciting platform that gives young people a voice and allows them to refresh their music experience every day."

In September, Coke will be giving away an iPod and 50 songs from iTunes every hour for eight weeks in Germany. Later this week German Coke customers will also be able to exchange Coke Fridge loyalty coins into free songs from iTunes. More European promotions will be announced in the coming months.